scotlad

😂

Exactly. Attacking Reform as a party is one thing, but like it or not hundreds of thousands of Scots went out and voted for them. In treating Reform this way Swinney is thumbing his nose at those people, some of whom may have once been SNP and/or independence supporters. It was a decision that makes Swinney look petty, and one which, given how Reform like to present themselves as anti-establishment (as absurd as that might sound), is likely to play into their hands in the long run.

Aye, but maybe the fat women of Sunderland have created the potholes he's desperate to fix. 🤷‍♂️ Honestly, the poor man's just trying to find innovative solutions to everyday problems and all he gets is criticism. For shame.

To my mind, tactical nous is essential for an international coach. I wouldn't be against Askou getting the job, whenever it becomes available, but it is a huge role and I'm not sure he's big enough a figure yet.

Between them and some of the Reform crowd, this parliament's going to be like a circus! At least it might make the SNP look sensible by comparison.

That wouldn't be difficult, there are spam emails more trustworthy than Sarwar! I was pleased the SNP won yesterday, in no small part because it meant our government wouldn't be led by that sleazy buffoon, but he's shown no signs of going anywhere yet. Compare his attitude to that of the outgoing Welsh Labour FM, who took responsibility for her party's defeat and resigned. Not Sarwar though; it was everybody else's fault but his.

They can't be taken for granted but neither can they be completely disregarded. The polls have shown the SNP's support declining significantly since 2021 and if you're based over east, where there were a few unionist-held constituencies to begin with, you don't need to be a political expert to foresee potentially more seats falling to unionist parties. I accept it might have been more difficult to gauge this time though, as a lot of constituency boundaries were changed. As mentioned Glasgow Kelvin, it was merged with bits of Anniesland and Maryhill to form Kelvin and Maryhill. That and Southside were the only constituencies in Glasgow that were being talked about as potential Green gains though, so even winning 7 as opposed to 8 out of 9 wouldn't have made a big difference as far as the list count goes, I wouldn't have thought. I guess many adopted the Greens as a de facto Yes list party, which makes some sense, as unlike the pro-independence microparties they at least had a chance of winning seats. Unfortunately it is looking like the worst of both worlds now, with a raft of Green oddballs occupying Holyrood for the next five years and independence kicked into the long grass.

So someone who's only legally in Scotland on a temporary basis to study has just been elected to our parliament where they'll help make laws that the rest of us will have to abide by?? 🤨 Said person sounds like a real charmer too, if this is accurate:

The Roy Hodgson of politics (except Woy was actually good at his job).

It depends where you are in the country. In Glasgow, in the current climate, SNP on the list is a waste, but somewhere like Edinburgh or the Highlands it's worth considering.

And if he had any integrity or dignity he'd resign. That's two Holyrood elections in a row he's lost.

The SNP should get a seat on the Highland list though, I'd have thought. Mind you, I'm slightly surprised they didn't win a seat on the Edinburgh/Lothian list, considering they failed to win a few constituencies.

We are producing them, but those players are being called up by other countries. Why is highlighting that defeatist??

It probably won't matter now but see if the SNP end up on 64 seats, that result up there is really going to grate!

She's also right about what a bad idea it was for Swinney to make such a big deal about winning a parliamentary majority in order to secure a mandate for another independence referendum.